[Cookie 023] Bourbon Currant Cookies

So as of late, I've been on a cleaning rampage. It seems strange, considering I spent 10 years in the current house I live in refusing to clean my closet out even just once. Stuff has been piling up for years, forming geological strata in correspondence with my various interests and (toy) acquisitions throughout my childhood years. So as I dig through all of this crap, the more time I spend at it--the further down I delve--the more I realize what a strange kid I was. I had (and still do) this strong love of lists and organization: I've found hundreds of silly little to-do lists from way back in the 90s (way way back, man).

I just liked to have everything in order (barring the state of my closet, evidently). I'm still this way, and I still find it easiest to complete a task when I have a to-do list to guide me. I suppose this is also why I like to follow recipes very diligently, and also why I like to bake so much. Baking, obviously, is a very precise method of cooking, which leaves little room for straying from the original recipe. You really have to add the exact correct amount of everything, or else you'll end up with a completely different result.

Now, having said that, I would like to share with you my experience baking these Bourbon Currant Cookies. The recipe yeilds 6 dozen cookies, and considering only my dad and I are at home right now, I thought it best to divide the recipe in half. So, this is when you say "OK, instead of adding 2 eggs, I shall only use 1!" But, be forewarned: you should ALWAYS READ THE RECIPE THROUGH COMPLETELY before diving it. I, as you might suspect, did not follow this golden rule. So when I saw the recipe say "add one egg" I added that 1 egg to the dough post haste. But it just so turns out I was only supposed to add HALF an egg, reserving the other half for the glaze.

Oh, silly me. I knew something was up when I had finished the dough and it was more the consistency of a drop cookie, when the recipe tells you to roll out the dough and use cookie-cutters it it. At first, I thought that maybe the recipe was faulty, and that it messed up the order of sifting the flour to measuring the flour, and didn't have me add enough. So I added more flour into the mix until it became the right consistency and then I cut and baked it. Obviously, since I incorporated 2 times as much egg and an awkward amount of flour, the cookies did not bake for the right amount of time. In fact, they were still underbaked even after I left them in the oven for 7 extra minutes. But it was okay in the end! As my dad put it, they tasted like delicious mini-scones! A happy accident!

So if you want to be an idiot like me, add twice as much egg and make Mini Bourbon Currant Scones. Or you could be a rational, cognizant human and follow the directions. My 6-year-old self would probably advise you to do the latter. Either way, the addition of Bourbon really gives these a nice mellow sweetness, similar to that of the Cassis Crisps.

Bourbon Currant Cookies
Makes 6 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 1/3 cup bourbon
• 1/2 cup dried currants
• 4 tablespoons heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth. Add 1 egg, the flour, bourbon, and currants; mix until well combined.
2. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes (such as 2-inch card shapes). Whisk together remaining egg and the cream in a small bowl, and brush cookies with egg wash. Space 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
3. Bake until pale golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 3/5
Tastiness: 4/5 (Granted, I am rating this on the "scones" I made; making the cookies correctly probably tastes better, but who knows! Try it out and let me know!)
Attractiveness: 3.5/5
Is it worth it?: Yeah. Very little ingredients and steps, so they are quick and taste yummy!



****

P.S. I changed the header of the blog. Not sure how much I like it...maybe I'll change it again.

[Cookie 022] Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

(*Edit* Upon further inspection--ie. eating the cookies a few hours after they were baked--I have amended several of my comments!)

So I think it's high time we have a very important discussion. You know, the one that can truly divide bakers into 2 teams, into 2 rivaling categories. There are those who support one side, and those who do not. Some who have superior taste buds, and others who are not in their right mind.

I am talking, of course, about the great Chocolate-Peanut Butter debate. Some, my mother and myself included, see this combination as the building blocks of decadence and indulgence, a flavor combination for the ages. Others, such as my father, could not think of a worse pairing of flavors. These people are crazy, obviously.

I began thinking about this last night when I was watching So You Think You Can Dance (guilty!) with my mom and an advertisement for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups came on. I seriously love these advertisements so much; maybe it's because I'm a die-hard choco-peanut-ophile, but I truly think these ads are just fabulous in every way. As my mom and I are watching the 30-second spot, we are salivating, our eyes transfixed by the TV screen. "What I would do for a Reese's right now..." my mom laments. We are devoted, you see.

My father, as I mentioned earlier, does not understand this. He hates those candies, and any cookie with said delicious combination of ingredients. Seeing as he is out of town this week, what better time than to make a cookie falling under this beautiful category. Enter Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies. My mom and I had high, high hopes.

Alas, while the recipe was simple enough, and used ingredients that we really thought could do no wrong, it simply didn't live up to our expectations, at first. But before I elaborate, let me just say that there is hardly any flour in the recipe at all, thus producing a quite crunchy cookie, but also a rather flat one at that. Also, as I baked 2 batches simultaneously, they didn't bake evenly, and several cookies were a little burnt. But, the third batch I made used dough that had been refrigerated a bit, and this made all the difference. These cookies didn't flatten out so much, and looked more like the photos in the book.

In the end, though, I must admit that the dough tasted a little better than the actual cookie. For such a lethal (good-lethal) pairing of ingredients, I was underwhelmed at how they tasted straight out of the oven. After eating a few, I hastily sat down at my computer and wrote this entry, intending on giving the recipe a rather mediocre review. However, when I tried the cookies several hours after I finished them, they tasted a lot better. I think these improve with age; at first they were rather uninspiring, but now that they have sat out for a while, they are crunchier, crispier, and more flavorful. Plus, the addition of whole peanuts to the dough gives them a great crunch when paired with the softer chocolate chips and oatmeal.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen (I halved the recipe, obviously)

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups salted whole peanuts
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Put sugars, butter, and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add oat mixture, and mix until just combined. Mix in peanuts and chocolate chips.
4. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop balls of dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown and just set, 13 to 15 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 days.

****


{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4/5 (At first I gave these a 3, but now I think they taste pretty swell, in fact)
Attractiveness: 2/5
Is it worth it?: Actually, I would say yes! Just give 'em a while to harden up and get crispier.

****

By the by, I made Lemon Meringue Cupcakes a few days ago as well. Check out my other blog, Notions & Curios, for pictures and the link to the recipe!

[Cookie 021] Sugar Cookie Cutouts

Well, would you look at that. With all my efforts, my little ol' blog turned 4 months old a few days ago, and I've made a total of 21 cookies. Hmm, let's get the old calculator out...

I have 154 more recipes to go.

I have 35 more months until I graduate college. Or, roughly 141 more weeks.

Thus, if I am to bake only 1 recipe a week, I am behind. Significantly! I should be at #34! Ahh!!! I need to get goin'! Turn the heat up, so to speak. Gas the stove, all aboard, heave-ho you know?

So in the name of progress, do let's continue! Onwards to the recipe de la semaine! Sugar Cookie Cutouts. Nothing says progress like Royal Icing, rainbow sprinkles, and hot pink kitties, am I right?

A little background to the reason I chose this particular recipe. My first cousin once removed (I think that's correct...) is turning 8 this week, and for her present, my mom and I decided it would be cute to bake her a batch of cookies and mail them off along with some cookie cutters and decorating tools for her to make a batch herself. We hustled over to Sur La Table, had fun picking out some great cutters (though some are pretty ridiculous...a handbag that looks like a pentagon or something, as if!), and then baked these guys up.

Once again, Martha produced a great recipe for a classic cookie. The recipe makes the quintessential sugar cookie, and the recipe is simple and fun. It can be a little challenging rolling out the dough after it's been in the refrigerator for a while, but as long as you let it warm up a bit you should be fine.

The decorating part, obviously, is where the real fun--or frustration--comes into play. To make the Royal Icing, she suggests using Meringue Powder instead of real egg whites, which I did in fact go out and buy (at JoAnn's, if you were wondering). My only issue was the consistency of the icing. It was a little too runny, but that's easily remedied. I always mess that part up anyways, and it's either too runny or too thick. Whatever!

I had fun decorating these, especially adding little blue polka dots and hearts into the icing, like in the picture above. I made a gigantic, sticky, horrendous mess of my kitchen--but I cleaned it all up, mom and dad if you're reading this. Then I let the cookies dry out completely, packaged them up, and shipped them off to the birthday lady!

Sugar Cookie Cutouts
Makes about 2 dozen 4-inch cookies

Ingredients

Makes about 2 dozen 4-inch cookies

• 4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• Royal Icing (optional)
• Gel-paste food coloring (optional)
• Fine sanding sugar or sprinkles (optional)

Directions

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl.
2. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually mix in flour mixture. Divide dough into quarters; flatten each quarter into a disk. Wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Let one disk of dough stand at room temperature just until soft enough to roll, about 10 minutes. Roll out dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. Remove top layer of plastic wrap. Cut out cookies with a 4-to-5-inch cookie cutter. Transfer cookie dough on plastic wrap to a baking sheet. Transfer baking sheet to freezer, and freeze until very firm, about 15 minutes. Remove baking sheet from freezer, and transfer shapes to baking sheets lined with nonstick baking mats. Roll out scraps, and repeat. Repeat with remaining disk of dough.
4. Bake, switching positions of sheets and rotating halfway through, until edges turn golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.
5. To decorate, tint icing with food coloring, if using. Flood tops of cookies with icing. While icing is wet, you can pipe polka dots with icing in contrasting colors on top; stretch dots into flourishes (hearts) with the tip of a wooden skewer for a marbleized look. Flock wet icing with sanding sugar if desired. After icing cookies, let them sit out overnight to set. Cookies can be stored in between layers of parchment in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Royal Icing
Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 5 tablespoons meringue powder
• Scant 1/2 cup water

Directions

• Combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until smooth, about 7 minutes. If icing is too thick, add more water; if too thin, beat icing 2 to 3 minutes more or add more confectioners' sugar a tablespoon at a time. Use icing immediately, or store in an airtight container up to 2 days (icing hardens quickly when exposed to air). Beat well with a rubber spatula before using.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 2/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5 (Would've been 5/5, if not for meringue powder)
Tastiness: 3.5/5
Attractiveness: ??/5 (It's all in your hands...)
Is it worth it?: This is a perfect sugar cookie recipe! Do it!

Favorite Cookie [011-020]

So, here's what we're gonna do: I'm changing this whole thing up a bit. Instead of just posting my favorite cookie from the 10 most recent recipes, I'm going to organize them from the BEST to the NOT SO BEST (they're all good--no "worst"). Here we go, let's do this:

1st place: Pecan Bars
This was a no-brainer right? I mean, seriously, if you tasted these--or even just read my entry on them, you'd know from the get go that these were winners. Super-indulgent, nutty and sweet and sticky, they were fantastic. And fun to make, as well!

2nd place: Peanut Crisps
Okay, maybe not everyone who has tried all of the cookies I've baked so far would agree that these deserve to be the runner-up, but I was hardcore addicted to these cookies! Ugh, the combination of the salty peanuts and the sweet molasses of the brown sugar was to die for. My only complaint is that they didn't have the light texture that Martha said they would.

3rd place: Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies
These were just winners. I'd like you to try and find someone who wouldn't like these cookies. They're texture is exactly as the name suggests, and the recipe gives room for interpretation (I added in some nuts to contrast the soft and cakey texture of the cookies). They are super easy to make, and the raw batter is pretty much the epitome of uncooked, potentially dangerous, yet undeniably divine cookie dough!

4th place: Lemon Squares
I would have given these a higher rating if I was solely judging them on flavor, but the recipe itself was a royal pain in the ass. Grating butter? Who's ever even heard of that? And you had to freeze the dough, then half-bake it, then bake again. Pretty time consuming, but produced a delicious dessert.

5th place: Chocolate Thumbprints
It's all about the quality of chocolate that you use in these cookies that makes them so delicious. The cookie/biscuit part is also quite yummy, especially because it has so much powdered sugar, thus giving it a melt-in-your-mouth quality. But they were tedious to make, and I burnt my thumb giving them said thumbprints. In the end, however, they are tasty and completely precious!

6th place: Cassis Crisps
These would win on originality, I believe. The Cassis (or in my case, the Chambord) liqueur gives the cookies a really subtle and unusal sweetness, and while baking gives off the greatest aroma (that sentence was really silly). However, they weren't crispy, and barring the liqueur, were a little on the boring side.

7th place: Classic Shortbread
To be fair, there really isn't anything wrong with this recipe. It makes a perfect little shortbread, but I'm just not that big of a shortbread fan. I guess that makes my rating system biased and flawed, but what can I do! I'm only one girl!

8th place: Fresh-Peach Drop Cookies
Okay, so I had very high hopes for these cookies, but I'm sorry Martha, you have to draw the line somewhere when it comes to cakeyness. These were essentially pancakes, or a pancake-cookie hybrid: A pancookie? Also, peeling, pitting, and dicing stone fruits is a drag. Flavor-wise they were good, though.

9th place: Earl Grey Tea Cookies
Oh boy. Yes. Well, if I were solely judging the most recent time I baked these cookies, I would have given them last place for sure, but I had made this recipe before, and produced quite yummy cookies. However, second time around, it was a true disaster. Does that warrent being placed second-to-last? I don't know; if you make them correctly, they are really good and very pretty!

10th place: Ne Plus Ultra Cookies
I really have to question the titling of these cookies. To suggest that they are the ultimate cookie, the be-all-end-all-top-o-the-line cookie, is, well, wrong. Sorry Martha, but these were just boring. Yes, they have everything in them (chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, you name it), but the results were rather uninspiring. Sorry!

****

Well that's that. Hope you enjoyed! Just remember, while I did rate some of these better than others, they were all good cookies. Don't be afraid to give any and all of the recipes a shot. If there was one that I wouldn't want you to make, I'd be sure to tell you explicitly!

Anyway, ready for round 3? I am. I'll go fire up the oven...in the meantime, you can check out the reviews from round 1 (cookies 001-010; the maiden voyage!).

[Cookie 020] Lemon Squares

Oh hey.

Sorry that I haven't updated in ages and ages, but I sort of fell out of the loop, see. I really have no excuse. It's like going to the gym: once I stop going, it's nearly impossible for me to start up again. Once I stop blogging, I just get lazier and lazier until, what do you know, I haven't posted in 1 million years (give or take an eon).

Anyways, the good news is that I received another Silpat from my ever so generous neighbor, who just so happens to prefer using parchment paper, and also has an affinity for lemony cookies. As a thank-you, I baked up some Lemon Squares for her, and I was rather happy with the results.

In general, I've noticed that most of the "bars" in the cookbook are quite rich and dense and indulgent and delicious albeit a little overwhelming. These were no exception; I tasted 1, loved it, but didn't really want to eat 23 more. So it was good that I got to give them away, especially to someone who truly appreciates the true lemony flavor of these bars.

The recipe itself wasn't perfect, however. To make the crust, Martha has you grate--literally, with a cheese grater--some frozen butter, and then mix it with the dry ingredients. I really have no idea why she has you do it this way, when generally you can just use a food processor (or even a pastry cutter or pair of knives in a pinch). Instead of going with my absolutely impeccable judgment, I let my OCD get the better of me and loyally followed the recipe, grating 1 1/2 sticks of frozen butter by hand. Worst mistake of my life! Such a pain! Use a food processor! I'm pretty sure it will yield the same crumbly results!

Also, the baking times were a little funky. First off, my crust didn't get to be golden brown, even when I left it in the oven for a few extra minutes. It was, however, cooked well enough through that it wasn't a problem.

The lemon custard, on the other hand, took a good 5-7 extra minutes of baking in the oven, and still came out a little under-done. But no matter; it was still really delicious and super lemony! Be sure to really, truly, and honestly let the bars cool completely before you slice them up; otherwise, you won't be happy!

Lemon Squares
Makes about 2 dozen

Ingredients

[for the crust]

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, frozen; plus more for dish
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt

[for the filling]

• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish, and line with parchment.
2. Make crust: Grate butter on a cheese grater with large holes; set aside. Whisk together flour, confectioners' sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter; stir with a wooden spoon until combined and mixture looks crumbly.
3. Transfer mixture to prepared dish; press evenly onto bottom with your hands. Freeze crust 15 minutes. Bake until slightly golden, 16 to 18 minutes. Leave oven on.
4. Meanwhile, make filling: Whisk together eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and milk. Pour over hot crust.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 325ºF, and bake until filling is set and edges are slightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Lift out; let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into 2-inch squares. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Lemon squares can be refrigerated in airtight containers up to 2 days.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 3.5/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4/5
Attractiveness: 3.5/5 (The powdered sugar goes invisible after refrigeration)
Is it worth it?: Yes. I'm sure you know someone (or are someone) who loves lemon--this recipe is for that someone!

[Cookie 019] Peanut Crisps

Okay, so I've come to realize 2 important things about my life this summer: 1) I've been baking a lot of cookies, obviously. 1) I have no (paying) job, and yet I am spending money. So I've finally begun to put 2 and 2 together and realize that I need to make money, and perhaps these cookies can be the way. But I don't know how to realize this dream just quite yet.

Psst! I got a Silpat! So awesome so awesome so awesome!

I want to sell cookies. Package them up all pretty and sell sell sell. But where? How? The farmer's market? Don't I need a permit and doesn't that cost money to get a stall? Who would buy them? Help! If anyone has any advice on how to sell baked goods for profit, please, I'd love some tips! Plus, I think my mother isn't so crazy about all the addictive, fatty baked goods continually circulating the household. I'd have to agree, but when I have nothing better to do, baking cookies always seems like a good idea.

Okay, now that I'm done whining and begging, let me tell you about these Peanut Crisps! They are so so so delicious! And plus, you can trick yourself into thinking that they are healthy because they only have 1/2 a stick of butter and have all that protein from the peanuts (hah, sounds like straight up health food, no?)

I chose this recipe because I really wanted a lighter cookie, so I wouldn't feel like I was going into cardiac arrest after eating a few (see Pecan Bars). In that regard, these were a success; but at the same time, they are highly addictive. I seriously can't stop myself from eating them. If you are a peanut fan, watch out, really.

My only complaints would be that the cookies weren't "light and airy" like Martha said. This could easily have been my fault (I didn't let the butter get to room temperature...maybe that's why?), but regardless, they are very crunchy, yet hard and chewy at the center. This is not a problem, by all means, but I would have liked them to be a little lighter.

I also think they need more salt, or at least I should have used salted peanuts that were more heavily salted. Either way, this problem can be easily remedied by adding a few extra shakes of salt.

Peanut Crisps
Makes about 3 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup salted whole peanuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until combined. Stir in peanuts.
3. Drop 2 teaspoons of dough on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 3 inches apart. Lightly flatten to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Bake cookies, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges are just golden, about 13 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks.Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

****

{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 4.5/5
Attractiveness: 4/5
Is it worth it?: Absolutely! If you like peanuts, you must make these, simple as that.

****
P.S. I started up my old blog, Notions and Curios, again! Check it out!